


Stupid Fox

by Hajimeru



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M, a collection of andreil's babysitting adventures!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 11:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7507300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hajimeru/pseuds/Hajimeru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>chapter 2: Allison gives Neil a call and asks for him to watch over her boyfriend's daughter while they head out for a weekend trip. Of course, wherever Neil goes, Andrew follows and of course Allison's made accommodations for the duo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stupid Fox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew and Neil babysit Matt and Dan’s son. When evening comes and the child asks for a bedtime story, Neil looks at Uncle Andrew confusedly. What were bedtime stories? And so, Uncle Andrew steps up to the plate.

Neil had just sat down on the couch with Andrew when Matt and Dan’s son came out from his bedroom. The child stood in the hallway with his dark orange blanket wrapped around his tiny shoulders and said, “Mom and dad usually tell me a bedtime story.” 

Neil glanced at Andrew, who didn’t react at all, and pulled together a smile. 

“Okay,” Neil softly said, “Get comfy in your bed. Uncle Andrew and I will be there shortly.” 

When the child hurried off to his room, Neil leaned against Andrew, his shoulders slumped from exhaustion. Today was a tiring day. Playing with the kid wasn’t the problem for Neil (they played Exy for a good portion of the day. Andrew sat on the porch, smoking, and watched). It was the nature of children that got him. Kids were curious creatures who sometimes unknowingly trespassed boundaries and sometimes they were a little too relentless. The child asked about Neil’s scars and burns. Did you get it from a fight? Did you do something bad? Was someone bullying you? Mom and dad said fighting is bad, to which Neil said:  _Ah there’s an exception. Fighting is good when you need to defend yourself._  Andrew didn’t do much to make the child feel any more comfortable when he warned grimly, “Be careful where you stick your nose. Nosy people tend to lose their noses.” 

Neil felt an inevitable sense of gratitude when the child stopped asking questions about Neil’s permanent injuries, but he still felt horrible for the kid. Neil tried to make Andrew’s words less of a threat and more of a life tip. Of course, the child didn’t exactly get the wisdom in the message but he did understand that Uncle Andrew was scary and intimidating. For the rest of the day, the child didn’t want to play or go near Andrew, which Andrew was completely fine with. He only came because Neil asked him to.  

“What story are we going to tell him?” Neil asked in a hushed tone. He double checked behind them to make sure the child was off in his room. “I’ve never had bedtime stories before. What do people even tell kids at night? I thought all you had to do was tuck them in and shut the door.” 

Andrew nearly rolled his eyes at Neil’s worrying. “Just tell a story. That’s it.”

“Well,” Neil started, nudging Andrew gently in the ribs, “Why don’t you do it then, huh?”

Andrew soundlessly got up and started walking to the kid’s room, leaving a somewhat surprised Neil to follow. Neil spoke to Andrew in Russian, warning him keep the story content appropriate. No foul language, no zombies, no killing, no shooting, no sex, no drugs, no— 

“Neil,” Andrew said, stopping abruptly in the hallway to stare Neil down. He said in Russian, “Stop worrying.” 

Neil nodded and quietly followed as Andrew pushed the bedroom door even wider aside. The child had his night light on by his bed. Andrew opted to lean against the kid’s drawer and Neil sat on the floor at the end of the child’s bed. 

“Uncle Andrew will tell you a story. Is that okay?” Neil asked. The child snuck a glance at Andrew who had his arms crossed and simply nodded. Andrew watched the child sink back against his fluffy pillows and pull his blanket up to his neck. Then, Andrew asked the child how old he was. 

The child answered, “Ten.” 

“Do you like Foxes?” asked Andrew. 

“Yes.” The child thought of his parents who, much to his confusion, openly reminisced about their so-called Fox days and shyly added, “I think mom and dad like foxes too.” 

Andrew glossed over that last detail. “Do you like animals?” 

“Yes.” 

Neil tilted his head in curiosity, wondering where these questions were headed. Andrew finally said after a moment of silence, “I’ll tell you a fable then.”

The child didn’t object. All he did was nod again, flip onto his side, and curl his knees to his chest to comfortably watch Andrew tell a story. Neil himself nestled into a good position, preparing himself to listen to Andrew’s voice because when did Andrew ever tell stories? 

“There once was a Fox.” Andrew paused when Neil smiled and then Andrew said in Russian, “Wipe that smile off your face, junkie.”

Neil made a wiping motion at his mouth and the smile magically disappeared. The child looked back and forth at the two uncles until Andrew switched back to English, continuing, “There once was a Fox who lived with birds, specifically ravens.” 

Andrew asked the kid, “You know what ravens are, right?”

“Birds that are black?” 

Neil supposed Andrew took that as a feasible answer because he continued on with the story. “The Fox grew up in a nest of ravens and when the Fox became of age to fly away from the nest, he stupidly decided to fly away too. He leapt off the branch holding the nest and flapped his furry little paws only to fall to the ground.” 

“Did it hurt?” the child suddenly asked. 

Andrew replied in a monotone voice, “The fox broke one of his paws and couldn’t climb his way back to the nest in the tree, so he limped around the forest.” 

Satisfied, the child nodded for Andrew to proceed. “The Fox never stepped a paw on the forest ground before so he was quick to get lost. Night was nearing and the Fox began to panic because he hadn’t found shelter yet, but thankfully for the Fox, a group of foxes passed by.” 

‘Why, you look just like me!’ the surprised Fox said. 

One of the foxes in the group answered, ‘That’s because we’re in the same family.’

‘Family?’ the Fox repeated, confused. ‘I’m a Raven.’ 

‘No, I’m pretty sure you’re a Fox,’ said the Head Fox. ‘Where are you from?’

‘The nest in that tall tree.’ 

‘It’s a wonder how you haven’t fallen until today,’ the Head Fox mused. He swished his tail, motioning for the lost fox to join them. ‘You won’t be able to return to that nest. You’re a fox. You belong on the ground.’

‘Oh but I can’t do that!’ the stupid Fox cried out. ‘My Raven brother told me to come back home before nightfall. I’m going to be late!’

Neil shook his head, resisting an amused smile as he listened. He assumed the “stupid Fox” was Kevin. Eventually, the Stupid Fox caved in and spent the night in the forest with the other foxes. A few more days with the foxes and the Stupid Fox gradually realized that he was indeed a fox. He learned how to hunt like a fox, think like a fox, and eat like a fox (so much easier now that he realized he didn’t have a beak, but a thing called a snout). 

‘I can’t believe I really am a Fox!’ the Stupid Fox cried out. ’No wonder why I couldn’t fly!’

One of the foxes asked: ‘And none of the Ravens ever told you that you didn’t have wings?’ 

‘No. They just said I was born handicapped and that I was still a raven because they were ravens.’

The Head Fox asked, ‘Then what have you been doing all these years up there?’

‘Oh, I just tend to the nest. They do the hunting.’  

‘In other words, you wait until you die,’ one of the foxes summed up. 

‘No really, I take care of the nest. I fix the twigs and leaves and one time my paw made a hole because I put too much pressure on the nest’s floor. I got in trouble for that.’ The Stupid Fox lowered his head as if he was reliving the shame. 

The Head Fox lead them out of the forest and into the grassland. ‘Well not like it’s entirely your fault. You’re a fox. You don’t have claws like ravens do, so of course you can’t tend to the nest in a nitty gritty fashion. It was bound to happen.' 

The foxes entered their den where the Head Fox then welcomed the Stupid Fox to the Fox Family. 'Welcome to our home. This is a den, this is where you live.'

The Stupid Fox looked at the unfamiliar sight. He would get used to it in due time. Something moved in the corner of the den and the Stupid Fox peered intensely until he could make out a raccoon playing with a shiny object in its paws.

‘I don’t think that is a fox,’ the Stupid Fox slowly said. ‘What is it?’

"A raccoon who thinks he’s a fox,” Andrew said, letting his eyes settle upon Neil. “The end.” 

“What? That’s it?” the child asked, bolting up into a sitting form. “What about the raccoon? What was the raccoon doing in the foxes home?” 

Andrew merely repeated, “The raccoon thought he was a fox.”

“What’s the meaning behind the fable?” Neil decided to ask. 

Andrew looked at Matt and Dan’s son, who quieted down, and explained, “If you never push beyond the established normality, you’ll stay the way you are. If that Stupid Fox didn’t try to fly, he could’ve lived his entire life thinking he was a raven. If you let others define you, then that’s what you’ll become. Thankfully for the Stupid Fox, he fell and got some sense smacked into him.” 

Neil was sitting with his chin on his knees and he didn’t realize he was staring at Andrew in that annoying manner until Andrew told him in Russian, “Quit it with the staring.” 

Neil simply flashed a grin at Andrew while the child asked again about the raccoon. “Does the Raccoon live with the Fox Family?” 

Neil got onto his feet and answered instead. “Yes, the raccoon lived with the foxes and he did his damn best trying to live with the Fox Family.” 

“Even though he really was a Raccoon,” Andrew added while heading out of the bedroom. Neil was left to quell the child’s inquisitive questions and as Neil tried to get the child back to sleep, he found himself growing more exhausted. Weren’t bedtime stories supposed to put children to bed, not keep them up? Damn Andrew for doing the complete opposite. 

“You know what,” Neil said, draping the blanket over the child who was finally laying in bed, “Next time Uncle Kevin watches you, tell him about the Stupid Fox, okay? I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> inspired by my own babysitting for the day.  
> also I like to think Uncle Kevin calls andreil one day, demanding to know why he was dubbed Stupid Fox. Neil appeases Kevin with smth like: "at least you were a fox. i was the raccoon. way to oust me, Andrew"  
> andrew: "you brought it upon yourself, junkie. goodbye Stupid Fox."  
> *andrew hangs up*


	2. if you wanna be my lover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allison gives Neil a call and asks for him to watch over her boyfriend's daughter while they head out for a weekend trip. Of course, wherever Neil goes, Andrew follows and of course Allison's made accommodations for the duo.

Neil had his cell phone tucked between his shoulder and his neck as he combed soapy fingers through Sir Fat Cat’s wet fur. The cat writhed around in the warm water, splashing soapy water all around its tiny, shallow, and oval-shaped plastic tub. 

“Quit moving around, you rascal,” Neil spat out as he fumbled for the cat again. 

An affronted voice exclaimed, “Excuse me?” 

Neil almost forgot he had Allison on the phone and clarified, “Not you, Allison. I was talking to my cat.” 

“Goodness gracious, Neil,” she said. Neil could imagine Allison sitting on her nice sofa in New York, filing her toenails as she talked on the phone. Allison said, "Are you _that_ lonely, having to resort to a cat as company? Where’s the Monster? I thought he’d keep you nice and homey.” 

Allison followed up with a skeptical  _hmph_ sound. 

“I’m actually giving the cat a bath right now so Andrew’s out in the living room,” Neil explained. Andrew hated giving Sir Fat Cat baths because of this very reason. The stubborn cat liked to splash water and make a mess during bath time; Neil didn’t want to deal with a dead cat with its skin flayed or a drowned cat, so he usually volunteered to do the baths, which also entailed cleaning up the after mess. He could understand why Wymack often said things like _I’m not paid enough for this._

 _“_ Well, anyways,” Allison said, “Back to the real matter now, I need you to watch my boyfriend’s daughter for the weekend.”

“Oh,” Neil lamely replied. He caught the cat’s tail and kept it from moving around. “Specifically when?”

“This weekend and don’t even say you have a game because I know you don’t. Plus, you could say this is you paying me back for that one time I helped you,” Allison cheerily and all-too willingly reminded. Neil could practically hear the smug smile on her face. 

When Neil didn’t reply, Allison prodded, “You do remember, right?” 

“Of course,” Neil hissed back, glaring at the cat below him. The incident occurred when Andrew was at an away game in another state. Neil was home with the cat who decided to shred the couch. They had Sir Fat Cat for nearly two months at the time. After Neil dialed Allison for an exact replacement of the ruined couch, Neil decided it was time to trim the cat’s nails. If Andrew noticed the new couch, he didn’t say anything. 

“Perfect!” Allison chimed, making the P in ‘perfect' pop. “Bring your Monster and pack your bags for New York, Neil.” 

She hung up and Neil almost dropped his phone when Andrew suddenly asked, “Who are you chatting with?”

Neil turned to look at the doorway, spotted Andrew shirtless in sweats, and straightened up at the miraculous sight. He heard a splash while Sir Fat pulled its tail from Neil’s grasp. Andrew pointed at the plastic tub on the bathroom floor, saying, “Your phone dropped.” 

Neil spiraled back into reality and he hastily swept his water-logged phone out of the tub. Why did Andrew always bring him back to reality? He would’ve been fine staring at that toned chest for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, Andrew already disappeared into the hallway. “I’ll be waiting in bed, Neil.” 

Incentive. Neil hoped that was what Andrew was giving him, because he could feel a hard-on coming. “Let’s get you washed up, Fatty. You are staying out of the bedroom this time.” 

No more cockblocking from Sir Fat Cat. 

* * *

Friday evening came.

Andrew parked the Maserati in the condominium's parking garage and the two navigated their way to Allison's floor. They rung the doorbell and Allison, dressed to the nines, swung it open with bright eyes. “Good to see you all in one piece, you damn foxes.”

“Foxes?” Andrew asked with feigned confusion. He made the show of looking around for the furry creatures and shrugged while looking at Allison. “Didn’t see any.” 

“Glad you’re still an asshole, Monster.” She gestured for them to hurry in but the look on her face said she’d like to toss them out the moment they stepped in. Well, Andrew for sure. Neil? He could probably stay since he hadn’t done anything wrong yet.  

They stepped inside and followed Allison. 

“Where’s your ki- I mean, your boyfriend’s kid?” Neil asked, taking in the spacious interior. There were a lot of leather furnitures in the living room and a large glass wall overlooking the city. The walls were a clean white shade. Colorful stools with spoon shaped seats stood by the kitchen's marble counter. 

“Paige, finish whatever you’re doing in there and then come on out to meet your babysitters for the night!” Allison called out as she poured herself a drink in the kitchen. She offered Neil a glass and sent Andrew a grudging look when she extended a drink for him. She said with a wink, “Don’t worry, Monster. I didn’t drug this.” 

“I’m touched,” Andrew flatly said, curling his fingers around the cup. Allison snorted at the display of affection, muttering, “So am I, Monster, so am I.” 

She downed her portion, setting the cup down with a clink. “Anyways, her dad wanted a female sitter but Renee’s out of the country, so I suggested Neil. He only approved of Neil because I said Neil doesn’t swing so no making out in front of the kid, got it?” 

Neil shrugged. “I don’t see any problem.” 

Andrew leaned against the wall. “Why didn’t you just hire a babysitter?”

Allison waved her hand dismissively. “Why spend money when I can get it for free, hm? Or are you discontent that you can’t kiss openly?”

“That’s not the problem. Neil and I could always ruin your bed, if we really wanted to.” Allison scrunched her nose in disgust at Andrew’s taunting words as he continued, "I’m saying: why did you pick Neil when you had other options? Don’t make me spell it out for you any more than I have to.” 

Allison laughed. “Alright, alright. So the poor girl’s fond of Mr. Exy Neil and I needed to sate her so she’d stop clinging to my man, okay? Look, Monster, you’re a big boy. Surely you can deal with a teen girl pining after Neil.” 

The adults stopped talking when they heard footsteps coming down from upstairs. 

Neil’s face asked over and over:  _Teen girl?_

Andrew’s face said: _We’re ditching this place._

Allison’s snarled back: _I’ll throw you out the window before you can even step a foot out._

Triumphant with their little staring war, Allison ushered them back into the living room with good timing because all parties arrived simultaneously. She beamed and waved her hands at Neil before lapsing into the introductions. 

“Paige, meet Neil. He’s a close friend of mine and he’s your sitter for the weekend.”

Allison slanted Neil a look. “Neil, meet my boyfriend’s daughter, Paige.”

Andrew thought to himself that if he didn’t know any better, this could’ve been the beginning of an arranged marriage or some kind of blind date. Too bad though, because Andrew Joseph Minyard did not share and nor would he ever. 

Allison pointed a manicured finger at Andrew. “That is Andrew. He’s Neil’s assistant for the time being, so play nice, okay, Paige?”

Paige nodded. She was close to Neil’s height and she had her hands tucked behind her back. Her green t-shirt had ‘SUNSHINE’ pasted in the center. 

The doorbell unexpectedly rung. Everyone looked at Allison who asked Paige to get the door. 

“It’s probably the other sitter,” Allison said with a twinkle in her eyes. Neil stepped closer to Andrew who narrowed his eyes at Allison. She took a seat on the sofa, running a thumb over her smooth red nails. 

“Hi!” came a friendly voice from the door. “Allison asked me to drop by, is she here?”

“Um, yeah,” Paige uncertainly replied. She called out to the living room, “Allison, do you wanna come over or let him in?"

“Oh, honey, you can just let him in,” Allison called back. She flashed Andrew and Neil a vicious smile, ignoring Andrew’s glare. "He’s gonna join the slumber party!” 

While Paige and the newcomer worked their way back, Andrew demanded (in Russian) to know what Neil and Allison were talking about the other day while he was washing Sir Fat Cat. Neil shook his head, genuinely clueless, as he responded, “She just said she wanted me to babysit. She never mentioned anything about a slumber party. I swear if I knew she was going to pull something, I would’ve told you, Andrew.” 

Andrew shifted his attention at the newcomer. Nicky’s bright smile faded when he saw Andrew and Neil. Though, it was mainly Andrew who sucked all sunshine from Nicky’s smile. 

“Good to see you, Nicky,” Andrew greeted. Nicky looked ready to bolt out of there as he said in German, “No, no, Andrew, you have it all wrong. I had no idea you two were going to be the other sitters. She really didn’t tell me anything about you guys.” 

Allison happily sighed as if she was in bliss. “Wonderful reunion, isn’t it? I hope you all take good care of Paige.” She gathered her jacket and strung her purse over her shoulder, giving them a nice look at her hair toss and the wiggling of her fingers. "Have a nice slumber party. Ta ta~” 

...

The evening was off to a slow start. Andrew abstained from any interaction. Neil and Nicky chatted with Paige, who turned out to be a freshman in high school. They talked about Exy because Paige was considering about joining her school’s team. 

“Oh,” Neil piqued up at this sudden revelation. “What spot are you interested in?”

“Goalie.” 

Nicky looked at Andrew like he had never been happier to see his cousin. He was careful not to sit too close to Andrew, which explained why he made Neil the safe buffer between them, and happily babbled about Andrew being a goalie for the sport. “Andrew could definitely give you tips! He’s really good at his position.” 

“Ah, that’s ok. I’d rather not,” Paige said. From what she knew, Andrew wasn’t so much of a person to lend a helping hand. Paige smoothly diverted the topic to safer subjects like lifestyles in Germany. Nicky quickly got absorbed in the talk and Andrew eventually slipped out to the balcony for a smoke. 

* * *

Saturday afternoon, they went to the ice rink after watching a movie in the theaters. Neil landed on his ass so many times, Andrew snarked in Russian about how Neil would get his ass whipped in a game of Hockey. 

“Well fuck you too,” Neil shot back in Russian. “You damn ice princess.” 

Andrew spun around in his ice skates, making specks of ice chip from the cold ground. “Do not make me Exy slam you into the wall, Neil.” 

“Do it, Andrew, I dare you.”

Andrew grit his teeth. “You fucking instigator. You never know when to shut your mouth, do you?”

“Mmm,” Neil hummed, contemplating. “I think that’s why you like my blow jobs.”

“I hope you fall on your ass a thousand times over, idiot.” Andrew perfectly skated away, leaving a triumphant and grinning Neil on the ground. 

Meanwhile, Nicky was helping Paige ice skate on the other side of the rink. Paige stumbled and tightened her hands around Nicky’s. Nicky shot her an encouraging grin. “Don’t worry, you’re doing good for a beginner, Paige.” 

Paige snuck a look over at Neil and Andrew who skated away. Nicky must have seen her concerned look because he laughed and said, “They’re always like that. Bickering like an old couple.” 

“Were they like that in college?” she asked. 

Nicky shrugged. “I guess.” 

Nicky saw the way Paige watched Andrew round the rink’s curve and smiled. He sure hoped Andrew wouldn’t break the girl’s heart. Seriously, how dense could Andrew be? Nicky shook his head. No, Andrew wasn’t dense. That was Neil. Andrew simply didn’t give a fuck, that’s what it was. 

After ice skating, they got ice cream. Well, it was more like Nicky asked Andrew and Paige to get ice cream because Neil was too sore to move. Andrew treated the walk to the ice cream shop with evident detachedness that made Paige very hesitant to speak to him. In the end, the most she spoke to Andrew was when she asked what flavor Nicky liked. 

“Get him an extremely sweet flavor,” Andrew suggested. 

Paige wasn’t sure if that really was Nicky’s preference so she decided on something safe. 

...

On the drive back to Allison’s condo, Neil reassured that he was ‘fine’ and that he was just sore from falling down too much. Paige sat in the front with Nicky driving. Neil and Andrew were speaking in Russian again. 

“Okay, okay,” Neil said. “I’ll get some medicine for the bruising later on.” 

Andrew poked Neil’s throbbing thigh. “You better.”

They left it at that. Neil looked out the window and hid his smile behind a hand. Paige caught a glimpse of Neil’s tiny smile via the wing mirror on her side of the car. 

...

After dinner, Neil disappeared into the bathroom. Nicky was in the kitchen washing dishes. Andrew flipped through the channels in the living room and Paige joined him, relieved for the time alone with Andrew. In fact, this was her second time alone with the goalie. 

“Do you make it a habit to stare at people?” Andrew asked. His tone was mild, devoid of any irritation or rather any emotion. He clicked to the next channel, skipping a commercial, and Paige felt grateful that he wasn’t actually looking at her. 

“Not at all the time,” she said. 

“Then only certain people?” 

“Yes, only certain people,” she echoed. 

Andrew paused in the middle of his channel surf to assess whether he wanted to watch the show or not. Then he said, “I can’t be one of those ‘certain people’.”

Paige averted her eyes and stared at the carpet floor. A slow, sad feeling crept from her stomach up to her chest. Sadness became tight and constricting. When she could finally find her voice, she nodded, explaining, “It’s just a silly crush. I’ll get over it.”

“Smart choice.” 

They both heard the bathroom door, down the hallway, open. Neil’s footsteps came in their direction and he rounded the corner with a towel wrapped around his neck. His face was flush from the warm water and just as he was about to sit down, Andrew pressed a hand to Neil’s shirt. 

“Did you put on the medication?” 

The sudden remembrance on Neil’s face confirmed Andrew’s suspicion. Andrew shoved him back, instructing, “Put it on the bruises or else-“

“Got it, got it,” Neil muttered as he retreated back to the bathroom. Paige watched the scene unfold. There was something very natural about their interactions and the way they flung words, underlined with concern, at each other with ease. A pang of envy seared through her. It’d be nice to have someone as caring as Andrew. 

* * *

Sunday came.

Nicky must’ve seen the heartbreak on Paige’s face, or maybe he smelled heartbreak in the air, and decided that they all go to a karaoke center. They did because Nicky persuaded Paige and she was the final word. The group settled into a room for four. The lights dimmed and a disco ball splattered the room in moving rainbow colors. Nicky toyed around with the stereo and M2M’s Pretty Boy was selected. Grabbing a mike, Nicky struck a dramatic rock star pose and pointed at Neil and Andrew, saying in German, “Dedicated to you two lovebirds.”

He ducked when Andrew chucked a pillow at him. The lyrics floated up the screen as Nicky carried a decent tune, managing to stick to the rhythm: 

_I lie awake at night_

_see things in black and white_

_I only got you inside my mind_

_you know you have made me blind_

Nicky paused later on and said, “You know what, forget you two. This is dedicated to my hubby, Erik, in Germany.” 

_oh my pretty pretty boy_

_i love you_

_like i never loved no one before you_

Per Nicky’s request, Neil filmed a video of Nicky singing. He figured Nicky would send it to Erik. Andrew pulled out a cigarette and Nicky stopped singing to declare into the microphone, “Hey blond man in the seat over there! Smoking is strictly prohibited. Take it outside if you must.” 

Andrew willingly left the room, ignoring the tiny pleading look on Neil’s face, and thus Neil was left to Nicky’s devices. As much as Neil said he didn’t know any of these songs, Nicky reassured him it’d be fine because that’s what the lyrics on the screen were for!

“You can’t be that bad, Neil. If you can improvise in an exy match, you can do it for a song!” 

Neil surrendered after Paige jumped in, saying they could do it together because she wasn’t too familiar with some songs. 

...

Andrew stayed away from the room for a good three hours. When he returned, he heard a beat echoing from the room. The moment he opened the door, he saw Nicky, Neil, and Paige with arms tucked over each others' shoulders. They were smiling and laughing, eyes glued on the screen. 

Neil was off-tune as he sung: _If you want my future, forget my past. If you wanna get with me, better make it fast. Now don’t go wasting my precious time, get your act together we could be just fine._

The group all jumped in, shouting, screaming, singing: _I’ll tell you what i want, what i really really want, so tell me what you want, what you really really want—_

Andrew shut the door. He’d come back later. 

Another thirty minutes passed, he returned and opened the door. 

The trio was shouting: _If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends. Make it last forever, friendship never ends, if you wanna be my lover, you have got to give, taking is—_

Andrew shut the door. Why did these idiots keep replaying Spice Girls’ Wannabe song? Before he could turn and leave, the door sprung open. A grinning Nicky pulled Andrew inside and quickly darted away when Andrew swiped a hand to bat him away. 

Neil was giving Andrew an amused look. _Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want—_

“Cut it out, Neil,” Andrew ordered in Russian. 

Nicky bobbed his head to the funky, addictive beat. _Slam your body down and wind it all around._

Nicky walked around bobbing his head while simultaneously doing the Egyptian dance. His body was moving so awkwardly it made Paige laugh and Neil shook his head from the second-hand embarrassment. Andrew imagined Aaron grabbing his stuff and leaving, all the while saying, “I don’t know any of you guys.” 

In fact, Andrew thought, he might as well as just do that. Neil sat next to Andrew before he could leave again. He held his mike up to Andrew and said, “C’mon. Say one line. This is only once and for the record, we are never doing this again.” 

“I hate you, Neil,” Andrew said in Russian. Nicky and Paige crowded around to block Andrew's escape. They held their microphones up, silently urging Andrew to sing along. Andrew gave them threatening looks as he said in a flat voice, “ _If you really bug me, then I’ll say goodbye_.” 

Nicky laughed at the irony and retreated to the center of the room again, taking Paige with him. Neil put his mike down and smiled. “See, it wasn’t that bad, was it?” 

“I lost too many brain cells from this, Neil.” 

“And someone called me a drama queen,” Neil scoffed. 

“You owe me.” 

“Name it, and I’ll see what I can do,” Neil murmured close to Andrew’s ears. 

* * *

Sunday night quickly came after a day of fun. When the group arrived at the condo, Allison was already back from her trip and she was sipping from a mug of warm coffee. She draped an arm over the back of her sofa and smiled pleasantly. “I take it you guys had a swell time, yes?"

Paige smiled. “Yes.” 

“Absolutely fun!” Nicky said as he hurried over to show Allison his videos of them doing karaoke. Allison nearly spat out her coffee when she saw Neil singing along. “Send this to the group chat. Dan and Matt will love this. Renee will probably say something like ‘oh how sweet blah blah’.”

Andrew and Neil went to grab their bags from their room. Allison noticed and followed them. She knocked on the door, catching Neil’s attention whereas Andrew continued zipping a bag. “So, Monster, how’d it go?” 

Andrew handed Neil’s bag to him, responding, “I closed the case.”

“Geez. Make it sound like a murder crime while you’re at it,” Allison remarked. Neil looked at the two in confusion. Andrew jerked his head in the direction where Paige and Nicky was. “You knew about her. What was your motive?”

Allison blew her nails. “Paige is a good girl, a little bit shy, but she’s good. She wanted to play Exy and well, I thought I’d toughen her up a bit. You gotta taste rejection to toughen up.”

“That’s one way to do it.”

“Besides, I was really testing her resolve for playing Exy. If she’s only joining because she likes you, it’s kind of a waste of time, isn’t it?” Allison cocked her head, searching for something on Andrew’s face. There was nothing. Not surprising, she figured. 

Meanwhile, Neil was on the verge of gaping because he was slowly putting the pieces together. “You..Allison, you lied to me…she’s not,” Neil looked at a passive Andrew, “She liked Andrew, not me.” 

“Bingo,” Allison said the same time Andrew said, “Congrats, Sherlock.” 

Allison led them out of her home, casually saying over her shoulder, “How do you even put up with someone so dense, Monster?”

“I don’t,” Andrew simply answered. 

“What?” Allison pulled the door open as they stepped out. “So you just leave him dumbfounded?” 

Neil grumbled something about the two being rude because he was obviously still in the vicinity. But then again, he wasn’t so surprised. These were foxes. When did they ever hold their comments back? 

Andrew must’ve been feeling gracious because he didn’t leave Allison hanging. “I let him work it out himself. He comes to me when he needs to.” 

Neil’s eyes lit up at that. Andrew shut the door before Allison could say anything and led Neil out to the Maserati, warning, “We are never babysitting for her again, understood?”

Neil nodded. “Do teens even really need to be watched over?”

Andrew slid into the car, revving the engine to life, and rolled the window on Neil’s side down. “Now you think of that? Should’ve thought of it from the get-go. Now get your ass inside, Neil. I am not leaving you in this shit hole.”

After Neil finished reading a text, he happily got in, tossed his bag into the back seats, and showed Andrew Nicky’s text: _Tell Andrew thanks for letting her down softly._

Andrew pulled out of the garage and when they merged onto the highway, he cut across lanes with his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel tightening. “I knew stupid fucking Nicky was in on it. Remind me to kill him the next time he visits, Neil.”

“That is, if you don’t kill us in a car crash first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> turning this into a collection of andreil babysitting ficlets! all credit to the respective artists feat in the karaoke scene. spice girls and M2M.


End file.
